It is interesting to read about how a small class of people with their own culture fit in to the wider scheme of things. You mention their nationalism, but don’t say much else about any political motivations. Are they driven by politics in any way and how does their nationalism manifest itself? I would imagine they like Putin a lot!
Author: Nick Schuff
Comment on The Soviet Union- BYOB by Nick Schuff
Wow, those stats you included on the increase in alcohol consumption between 1955 and 1979 are incredible. I wonder if in your research you read about any theories as to why those numbers increased as much as they did? Nice post!
Comment on Detente: Nixon and Brezhnev by Nick Schuff
Why do you think that, with the United States engaging in anti-communist insurgency movements around the world, the thaw was able to continue? Did the Soviets simply tolerate it? Was this a step towards a new normal where war by proxy would be the main…
Comment on Corn and Communism Are All That Matter by Nick Schuff
What do you think it was about the Soviet system that allowed them to excel in areas like ballistics, but prevented them from ever getting their agricultural capacity up to comfortable levels?
Comment on Unsurprisingly, Stalinism Wasn’t Everything It Was Cracked up to Be by Nick Schuff
It is interesting and I suppose very emblematic of the so-called “Great Retreat” that after all the radical changes wrought by the 1917 Revolution including some that drastically altered the idea of women’s place in society, Stalin and the party began to push inherently conservative ideals such as pushing motherhood as a woman’s highest purpose. Indeed, the poster you include reminds one more of propaganda you might see in Nazi Germany rather than a country founded on the ideals of revolutionary socialism like the Soviet Union.
Comment on Collectivization by Nick Schuff
Great post Bryan! I just have one question that perhaps was answered in your research. If both the peasants and the Kulaks were, for the most part, resistant to collectivization, how was Stalin able to implement his plan? Did he utilize propaganda to successfully turn the peasants against the Kulaks and thereby push for collectivization or was the plan mostly accomplished through brute force in the end?
Comment on The Lost Shepherd to a Revolutionary Flock by Nick Schuff
Another example of sharp propaganda by the Bolsheviks. I am a bit skeptical that they really did even end up selling the religious treasures and relics to fund the purchase of food, or if it was just a pure propaganda scheme. I have doubts that they wo…
Comment on One Venti Misogyny Latte with a Shot of Cynicism by Nick Schuff
Great post highlighting the incompleteness of the fight to give women a status on equal footing with men in the new post-revolution society. I do have one question about your conclusion though. You say that women were given higher expectations that they simply could not meet, but I’m a little hazy on what those expectations were. Is it that they were expected to be more “masculine” to fit the ideal of a revolutionary while at the same time expected to maintain their role as primary caregiver and homemaker?
Comment on The Emancipation of Soviet Citizens from Religion by Nick Schuff
Wow, the lengths the Bolsheviks went to in their quest to destroy the influence of the Orthodox Church just shows how drastically they intended to shift the society and the culture. They framed nearly every part of society in a us against them, class warfare light in order to gain the favor of the masses.
Comment on Tea with a Splash of Vodka by Nick Schuff
How did the largely Greek population in Chavka contribute to the revolutionary movement? Did they simply express their support for radical reform and put pressure on local leaders or did they do something more substantial?
